Off-Season Training for Cross Country Kids (or grown-ups!)

Yesterday was our end of season party for cross country. I'm kind of sad that we are losing our sixth graders next year! The sixth grade kids have to move up to the middle school team next year. I've really grown attached to some of them, because we've been coaching them for three years (when Renee and I started the team).

I told the kids I would really like for them to continue training throughout the winter, spring, and summer (until the next season starts). Our season is only about eight weeks, so there is a long time in between seasons--long enough to get completely out of shape.

So, I wrote an off-season training plan for the kids if they want to continue to train until next year. I thought I'd post it here in case anyone else is interested in following it. In addition to being a plan for kids (we coach 3rd-6th graders), it would also work as a good plan for anyone who just wants to stay in running shape with minimal time during the winter months. It's even a good plan for beginner runners, once they are able to run for 20 or so minutes at a time.

The plan is just three days a week, and has an easy run, a speed run, and a long run (the long run is minimal compared to what I typically post about--it maxes out at one hour--because our kids' race distances are only 1-1.25 miles).

Here is the link to the PDF of the full plan. 

Here is what the first few weeks looks like, just to give you an idea:

It was such a great year for our team! The kids were fantastic, and I always have a blast coaching with Renee. I'm looking forward to coaching again next year :)